D&D General Should Adventurers Behave More Like Bounty Hunters? What Would Be the Implications?

[Oofta]

That probably depends on the metaphysics of the system/setting. If the soul/spirit has a metaphysical presence and reality, and is the thing that actually lasts for eternity (or some significant fraction thereof), then maybe the mind is, on the scale of things, perhaps only as relevant as the flesh, which we know will decay eventually.

But is someone truly "good" if they only act good because they're forced to be good? Is there a tipping point between direction and overriding?

In theory around 1% of people are sociopaths*. However, they make up 45% of the prison population. So if you could find those people and somehow modify their brains, could you and should you?

One option is to just put the equivalent of a shock collar on them, similar to a "geas". If they do something we want to prevent they get zapped. Doesn't change the person but prevents them from harming others. Unfortunately "geas" in 5E isn't really that powerful for more dangerous creatures. Not only would it have to be refreshed on a regular basis (unless cast at 9th level) it isn't much of a deterrent.

But what if you could give them drugs or perform neurological surgery to rewrite their brains? This is something that a lot of speculative sci-fi has dealt with. If you rewire someone's entire outlook and personality are you killing the person they were before?

Anyway the topic is interesting and kind of (sort of) makes me want to go back and watch A Clockwork Orange again ... but it's nothing that's ever going to be resolved.

*this is debated, and I'm not using scientific terms.

 

[Umbran]

But is someone truly "good" if they only act good because they're forced to be good? Is there a tipping point between direction and overriding?

The devil, of course, is in the details. We are only beginning to know the connections between mind and body for real-world people. For our games, the answer is going to sit in the combination of mind, body, and spirit. In games, we could stipulate what the influences are, and so have a definitive answer.

Of course, having a definitive answer makes it uninteresting - either hitting the Mind Reset Button in a given case is good, or it isn't.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Of course, having a definitive answer makes it uninteresting - either hitting the Mind Reset Button in a given case is good, or it isn't.

I am not sure D&D is the best medium for that but I can imagine a scenario where the players encounters an isolated place of enlightentment, where everything seem to be "nice", have a few adventures to defend the place against external threats, start thinking they could call this place home, and discover that their preferred method of meting out justice, "casting a spell at someone to make him nice" involves killing him and summoning & binding a warped celestial in his body. And most of the population is actually some kind of twisted husk and no longer the person they were (while claiming to be them, and having access to their memories to back this claim....) after having been subjected to this ritual for jaywalking or other similar minor offense... It's a rather common story in fiction where the heroes discover the apparently good community that shelter them is in fact evil and the "evil savages" attacking them were right (with the hero changing sides to support them...) but if it happend to the PC, they could feel tricked by the GM...

Edit: it is not a direct answer to your post, I was just thinking out loud about what the "mind reset button" being evil or good and thinking it could be a concealed action.

 

[Oofta]

I am not sure D&D is the best medium for that but I can imagine a scenario where the players encounters an isolated place of enlightentment, where everything seem to be "nice", have a few adventures to defend the place against external threats, start thinking they could call this place home, and discover that their preferred method of meting out justice, "casting a spell at someone to make him nice" involves killing him and summoning & binding a warped celestial in his body. And most of the population is actually some kind of twisted husk and no longer the person they were (while claiming to be them, and having access to their memories to back this claim....) after having been subjected to this ritual for jaywalking or other similar minor offense... It's a rather common story in fiction where the heroes discover the apparently good community that shelter them is in fact evil and the "evil savages" attacking them were right (with the hero changing sides to support them...) but if it happend to the PC, they could feel tricked by the GM...

Edit: it is not a direct answer to your post, I was just thinking out loud about what the "mind reset button" being evil or good and thinking it could be a concealed action.

So ... the Stepford commoners?